Article-handling apparatus



Nov. 11, 1958 w. o. SIMPSON 2,859,885

ARTICLE-HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 8. 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Axial M @no l l l s 1 l l l l l l l |4 l a l l- 9 d 5 2 n. rP 6 4J .l d. t/ d, 1 4l. xavi. f1: V5 .f -Il hiufii. a w )nHnHmHHHHHHHHIIn .HIHHIHHHHHHHU x 1 1 ||i||l| p r| Illlkl-.H 0 4|||| ...Il II..||III. I II.. U|IIL ,L W TEA 2 \1 s //f a \\n 8 .o |11 -.1 -A llll jr u u u rqlj. T I u t I I l I I l l I l l llrIrIFIV lllllllllllll ll l l l I l ||..r.| |I| .l s /ss n \\\lvl /l/ Illlll/ f 6. /I J .n F o, a Y L ..-i THQ r |-L \ll ukllllllwhlhlllllllllllIIIIII |ll|||I.IIIIII|IIIII.. I.PUII.||ll||||||||| Nov. 11, 1958 w. o. SIMPSON ARTICLE-HANDLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed sept. .8. 1954 United States 'Patent "i ARTICLE-HANDLING APPARATUS Warren Simpson, Indianapolis, Ind., assignorto Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New `ork, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 8, 1954, Serial No. 454,697

7 Claims. (Cl. 214-18) This invention relates to article-handling apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for drying transmitter bridges.

An object of the invention is to provide new and improved yapparatus for handling articles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus for drying transmitter bridges.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective apparatus for drying transmitter bridges.

An apparatus illustrating certain features of the invention may include a guideway in the shape of an inverted U having latching means at one end thereof and escapement means at the other end thereof. A fork through which disc-shaped articles are advanced by a conveyor belt is movable from a position below the first-mentioned end of the guideway to a position moving the article into the guideway, and actuating means are carried with the fork to actuate the escapement means to release an article from the guideway as the fork pushes another article into the guideway. There also is provided drying or heating means for heating the articles as they are advanced along the guideway.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained by the following detailed description 'of an apparatus forming a specic embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which Fig. l is a fragmentary, front elevation of an apparatus forming one embodiment of the invention with portions thereof broken away;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken along line 33 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section taken along the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal section taken along the line 5 5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section taken along the line 6 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section similar to that shown in Fig. 6 with portions of the apparatus shown in different positions; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary top plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. l.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is shown herein a dryer for drying transmitter bridges 10 which have rim portions 11 and projecting or boss portions 12 of a lesser diameter than that of the end rim portions 1.1. After small parts (not shown) have been cemented to the bridges 10, the bridges are advanced by a belt 13 to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, and advance each bridge into a forli 14 having a guideway 15 and shelves or tines 16 designed to receive the rim of the transmitter bridge 10 thereon. The fork 14 is provided with a stop 17 to properly position each article 10 and is carried by an arm 18 of a plate 20 mounted slidably on guide rods 21 having adjustable nuts 22, acting as stops to limit the movement Patented Nov. 11, 1958 ICC of the plate 20 thereon. The plate 20 is fastenedrigidly to a piston 31 operable by a pneumatic cylinder 32.

When the piston 31 is raised by air under pressure admitted to the bottom of the cylinder 32, the bridge 10 carried by the fork 14 is moved upwardly past springpressed holding arms 37 and 38 into four guide rods 39, 40, 41 and 42. The guide rods are mounted by blocks 45, 46, 47 and 48 securedby brackets 51 and-52 (Fig. l) to walls of a housing 53 having an entrance opening 54 and an exit opening 55. The blocks 45, 46, 47 and 43 have openings therethrough, illustrated by an opening 55 in the block 45, which provide clearance for passage of the bridges 10 therethrough, and also are provided with grooves 56 for holding the rods 39, 40, 41 and 42 in proper guiding positions for the bridges 10. The rods extend parallelly in a U-shaped path through the housing 53 and the bridges 10 are guided along that path. Infrared ray lamps 60 are mounted in the housing 53 and direct heating rays toward the bridges 10 as the bridges travel along the guide rods so that the portions of the bridges cemented together previously are thoroughly dried.

The block 45 mounts the latching arms 37 and 38 pivotally thereon through pins 63, and leaf springs 64 press .the arms 37. and 38 toward one another. The arms 37 and 38 are provided with cam portions 65 and hook portions 66. The cam portions 65 permit a bridge 10 to force the arms 37 and 38 away from one another as the bridge 10 is moved upwardly by the fork 14, and the hook portions 66 are pressed under the bridge as it is moved therepast to retain the entire column or stack of bridges 10 after the fork 14 has been lowered away from the column.

The block 48 forms portions of an exit escapement 71 which is mounted at the exit end of the guide rods 39, 40, 41 and 42 directly above a discharge chute 72. The escapement 71 (Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7) has top escapement arms 78 and 79 which are mounted pivotally on pins 80 and 81 secured to a bracket 82 in fixed positions. The arms 78 and 79, which are provided with relieved portions 484 and 85, normally are pressed by a tension spring 86 in ysuch directions that'the relieved portions84 and 85 are open sufciently that a bridge 10 may pass freely between the arms 78 and 79 and portions 87 and 8S of the arms 78 and 79 abut one another to limit the opening of the arms 78 and 79. The arms 78 and 79 also are provided with conical notches 91 and 92, respectively, mounted in alignment with a tapered pin 93 (Fig. 4). When the pin 93 is moved upwardly into the notches 91 and 92, it forces the end portions 87 and 88 of the arms 78 and 79 apart to thrust the relieved portions 84 `and S5 and the arms toward one another sufciently that the arms 78 and 79 will not permit a bridge to pass therebetween.

Bottom escapement'arms 98 and 99 are provided with arcuate relieved portions and 101 and conical notches 102 and 103. A tension spring 104 secured to the arms 98 and 99 normally urges the arms together to the positions thereof shown in Fig. 5 in which the relieved portions 100 and 101 of the arms will not permit the bridge 10 to pass therethrough. A pin 108 (Fig. 4) is designed to enter the notches 102 and 103 to force the lower ends of the arms 98 and 99 as viewed in Fig. 5 apart against the action of the spring 104. This forces the relieved portions 100 and 101 apart to positions in which the bridge 10 may pass between the arms 98 and 99. The pins 93 and 108 are threaded into sockets in the arm 111 secured to the plate 20, and are locked in adjusted positions by adjustment nuts 112 and 113.

When the plate 20 is raised to lift the fork 14, it also lifts pins 93 and 108, and the pin 93 is mounted in a position in which it will engage the levers 78 and 79 prior to engagement with the levers 98 and 99 by the pin 108. As the pin 93 is so raised, it forces the arms 78 and 79 from their open positions in which they permit the bridges to pass therethrough to their closed positions in which they extend below the column of bridges 10 except for the lowermost bridge 10. Then the pin 93 holds the arms 78 and 79 in their closed position as the pin 108 is moved up into the notches 102 and 103 in the arms 98 and 99 and moves the relieved portions 100 and 101 of the arms apart to a position permitting the lowermost bridge 10 which is supported by the arms 98 and 99 to drop into the chute 72. Then as the plate is automatically lowered, the pin 108 moves away from the arms 98 and 99 before the pin 93 releases the arms 78 and 79 so that the arms 98 and 99 reclose before the arms 78 and 79 reopen to drop the entire column of bridges 10 onto the arms 98 and 99. The spacing between the arms 98, 78 and 79 and 99 is just slightly greater than the thickness of the rims 11, and the thickness of the arms 78 and 79 is slightly less than the thickness or height of the boss portions 12 of the bridge. Bushings 121 (Fig. 7) serve to separate the arms 78 and 79 from the arms 98 and 99 and the pins 80 and 81 (Fig. 5) have threaded upper ends (not shown) which thread into sockets in the block 48 to support the entire escapement structure. Heads 122 of the pins 80 and 81 serve to support the arms 98 and 99 thereon.

Operation The conveyor belt 13 is moved to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, and moves the bridges 10 one at a time onto the fork or scoop 14. As each bridge 10 moves into the fork it is stopped by the pins 17 and actuates through the plunger 28 and the microswitch 29 to start the cylinder 32 by well-known means (not shown) to reciprocate once the piston 31 and the plate 20 mounted thereon. As the plate 20 is moved up to move the fork 14 up, the fork 14 lifts the bridge 10 beyond the latching portions 66 of the arms 37 and 38 which pushes the entire column of bridges 10 through the guide rods 39, 40, 41 and 42. Also, as the plate 20 moves up, the pins 93 and 108 sequentially actuate the escapement arms 78 and 79, and the escapement arms 98 and 99 to close the arms 78 and 79 and open the arms 98 and 99 and drop one bridge onto the chute 72. Then as the plate 20 is lowered, the arms 98 and 99 are rst reclosed and then the arms 78 and 79 are opened to permit another bridge 10 to drop onto the arms 98 and 99.

The above-described apparatus is highly eifective for drying transmitter bridges after parts thereof have been cemented together, and it is very sure in its operation, while being inexpensive in construction, maintenance and operation.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of this invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A drying apparatus, which comprises a heated chamber, a plurality of U-shaped rods mounted in the chamber in inverted spaced positions to form a guideway extending along a U-shaped path, said guideway having an entrance end and an exit end, latching means at the entrance end of the guideway for permitting discshaped articles to be pushed into the guideway and preventing the articles from coming out of the guidewa, a fork for moving an article from a position below the latching means past the latching means, means for reciprocating the fork, a irst pair of escapement plates mounted pivotally at the exit end of the guideway normally urged to open positions permitting articles to move therepast and having actuating portions extending to one side of the guideway operable when actuated to close the plates, a second pair of escapement plates mounted pivotally in positions below the first pair of escapement plates and normally urged to a closed position preventing passage of the articles therepast and having actuating portions extending laterally to the side of the guideway opposite to that at which the actuating portions of the first pair of plates are positioned operable when actuated to open the second pair of plates to permit articles to pass therebetween, means operable by the fork-reciprocating means for actuating the rst pair of plates, and means operable by the fork-reciprocating means for actuating the second pair of plates.

2. An article-handling apparatus, which comprises a guideway having an exit end, a first pair of escapement plates mounted pivotally at the exit end of the guideway normally urged to open positions permitting articles to move therepast and having actuating portions extending to one side of the guideway operable when actuated to close the plates, a second pair of escapement plates mounted pivotally in positions below the first pair of eS- oapement plates and normally urged to a closed position preventing passage of the articles therepast and having actuating portions extending laterally to the side of the guideway opposite to that at which the actuating portions of the first pair of plates are positioned and operable when actuated to open the second pair of plates to permit articles to pass therebetween, a pair of wedges mounted for movement at right angles to the planes of the plate, and means for moving the wedges between the pairs of plates to actuate them.

3. An escapement device, which comprises a pair of mounting pins mounted in parallel spaced positions, a pair of arms mounted pivotally on the pins, each arm being provided with an actuating portion extending to one side of the pins and an operative portion extending primarily to the other side of the pins, means urging the arms in such directions as to move the actuating portions toward one another and the operative portions away from one another, a second pair of arms mounted pivotally on the pins at one end of each and extending on one side of the first arms away from the actuating portions of the rst arms, each of the second pair of arms having an operative portion substantially coextensive with the operative portion of one of the first pair of arms and an actuating portion extending beyond the operative portion, means urging the operative portions and the actuating portions of the second pair of arms toward one another, tirst wedging means mounted for movement at right angles to the plane of the tirst pair of arms to force apart the actuating portions of the first pair lof arms, second wedging means mounted for movement at right angles to the plane of the second pair of arms to force apart the actuating portions of the second pair of arms, and means for actuating the iirst wedging means and the second wedging means sequentially.

4. An escapement device, which comprises a guideway for guiding hat-like discs, a pair of mounting pins mounted in parallel spaced positions at one side of an end of the guideway, a pair of arms mounted pivotally on the pins, each arm being provided with a notched actuating portion extending to one side of the pins and an operative portion extending primarily to the other side of the pins into the projected larea of the guideway, means urging the arms in such directions as to move the actuating portions toward one another and the operative portions away from one another to yopen positions, a second pair of arms mounted pivotally on the pins at one `end of each and extending on one side of the first arms away from the actuating portions of the first arms, each of the second pair of arms having an operative portion substantially coextensive with the operative portion of one of the first pair of arms and a notched actuating portion extending beyond the operative portion, means urging the operative portions and the actuating portions of the second pair of arms toward one another to closed positions,

a first conical pin for forcing apart the 4actuating portions of `the first pair of arms to close the operative portions thereof, a second conical pin for forcing apart the actuating portions of the second -pair `of arms to open the operative portions thereof, and means for moving the first pin and the second pin in paths perpendicular to the planes of the pairs of arms to sequentially close the operative portions of the first pair of arms and open the operative portions of the second pair of arms.

5. An escapement devi-ce, which comprises a pair of parallel pins, a pair of plates pivotally mounted on the pins and having actuating arm portions extending from one side of the pins and escapement larm portions extending from the opposite side of the pins to and bracketing a path of articles to be fed therepast, means normally holding the plates in positions in which the escapement arm portions are out of the path, a second pair of plates mounted pivotally on the pins and having arms extending from only said opposite side of the pins, said arms of the second pair of plates having escapement portions adjacent to and bracketing said path and actuating portions, means normally holding the plates in positions in which the esc-apement portions intersect said path, and actuator means mounted to move in a ldirection perpendicular to the planes of the plates for moving the irst pair of plates to positions in which the escapement arm portions intersect said path and the second pair of plates to positions in which the escapement portions of the arms thereof are out of said path.

6. In an apparatus for dispensing articles to a discharge chute, a vertical stack mounted above said chute,A

a pair of pivot pins parallel to said stack, a first pair of escapement arms mounted on said pins, means for urging said iirst arms into position to allow articles to pass therebetween, a second pair of arms mounted on said pins, means for urging said second arms into position to grip and hold lthe larticles from movement therebetween, each of said pairs of arms having extensions thereon, a plate mounted for movement toward yand away from said chute and stack, a pair of camming members on Said plate and in alignment with said extensions for acting on said extensions of each pair of arms, said camming members being of different height, means for moving said plate and camming members toward said sta-ck to sequentially act on said extensions to sequentially close and open said first and second pairs of arms.

7. In an article feed mechanism, a conveyor for moving articles, a tube having an entrance portion and an exit portion spaced from each other in the vicinity of the conveyor, means for transferring .articles from the conveyor to the entrance portion of the tube, means for holding each transferred arti-cle in the tube, a pair of vertical pins mounted in the vicinity of the exit portion of the tube, a first pair of arms mounted on said pins, means for urging said first pair of arms into position to permit the passage of articles therethrough a second pair of arms,

means for urging said second pair of arms into position n to grip 'andhold the articles in the tube, extensions on each pair of arms for controlling the positions thereof, a pair of camming members for sequentially operating and engaging the extensions on the iirst then the second pairs of arms, and means operated by said transfer means for lmoving the camming member in directions perpendicular to the planes of the arms to sequentially operate the -arms against the effect of the respective urging means whereby the first pair of arms grips an article and the second pair.

of arms releases an article.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 183,943 Jones Oct. 31, 1876 1,439,807 Ericson Dec. 26, 1922 1,626,242 Lanza Apr. 26, 1927 1,690,920 Bergmann et al Nov. 6, 1928 1,704,695 Baker Mar. 12, 1929 1,846,258 Johnson et al Feb. 23, 1932 1,963,621 Geyer .Tune 19, 1934 1,985,697 Stecher Dec. 25, 1934 2,427,958 Gibson et al Sept. 23, 1947 

